Bishop Tobin on the Aging Process

"'Seventy is the sum of our years, or eighty if we are strong, and most of them are fruitless toil, for they pass quickly and we drift away.' (Ps 90:10)

"These words of the Bible have certainly been on my mind recently, for having just celebrated my 70th birthday on April 1st, I've now reached the 'sum of my years.'

"Saint John Paul II used the same words in his 'Letter to the Elderly' (1999).

"There our Holy Father wrote: 'Seventy years was an advanced age when the Psalmist wrote these words, and few people lived beyond it. Nowadays, thanks to medical progress and improved social and economic conditions, life expectancy has increased significantly in many parts of the world. Still, it remains true that the years pass quickly, and the gift of life, for all the effort and pain it involves, is too beautiful and precious for us ever to grow tired of it.'

"By nature, I'm an introverted, introspective person, and I spend a fair amount of time alone, thinking about things. And I've been thinking a lot about what it means to turn 70, to have this milestone birthday. First, I've found, there are some very practical consequences."

In a recent commentary, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, of the Diocese of Providence (RI), reflected on some serious and some not-so-serious aspects of the aging process.

To access Bishop Tobin's complete essay, please visit:

Without A Doubt: Seventy, Or Eighty If We Are Strong (5 APR 18)